Overview
The Quantification of Environmental Services for Carbon (QUES-C)
module calculate the amount of green-house gas emission from land
use/cover change using stock difference approach. The stock difference
approach estimates GHG emissions or removals from land-use change by
calculating the change in carbon stocks over time. This involves
comparing the carbon stored in different land-use types at two points in
time, using Activity Data that quantifies the extent of land-use change,
and Emission Factors that represent the carbon stock changes associated
with each land-use transition. By multiplying the Activity Data with the
corresponding Emission Factors, we can determine the net GHG emissions
or removals resulting from land-use change within a given area and time
period.
Key Concepts:
- Carbon stock dynamics analysis is carried out for
carbon stock changes in an area during one period, using Stock
Difference method. The carbon stock being considered is
time-averaged above ground carbon stock.
- Emissions are calculated as the decrease of carbon
stock amount due to land cover change if the amount of the initial
carbon stock is higher than that upon land use change.
- Sequestration is calculated as the amount of carbon
stock addition due to land cover change (meaning that the carbon stock
in the initial land use is lower than that upon land use change)
Data Preparation
Before using the QUES-C Analysis tool, prepare the following:
- Land Cover Maps: Two raster files (GeoTIFF format)
representing land use/cover for two different time points.
- Planning Unit Map: A raster file (GeoTIFF format)
or shapefile of administrative or management zones.
- Carbon Stock Lookup Table: A CSV file describing
emission factors with their corresponding land cover classes.